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Drum: COVER FEATURE 47
“ Garvey’s Jesus identified with the sufferings of blacks and knew what it meant
to be the last to be hired and first to be fired. He was also a black revolutionary
with a message of self-help.”
boxer, Mike was no angel inside or outside of the
ring. He rose to the top but within the mythology of
the black demon, central motif is that no matter
what they accomplish they will fail. Whether selfdestruction or being brought down by others, there
is no resurrection; they die hopeless and usually
penniless.
Black Intellectual Jesus
This image does not get a lot of airtime in a world
obsessed with images of black music and sports. Yes
the messianic image of the black intellectual or guru
has a strong historical resonance. Before slavery,
African civilisation celebrated the work and
achievements of their wise men and women.
Naturally slavery disrupted this tradition but it did
not completely disappear. African Caribbean cultures
kept them alive in the form of wise elders and even
wiser sayings that were passed on to ensure the
survival and well-being of slaves then colonial
subjects. One the tragedies of our time is
that we have failed to rekindle the
centrality of learning in Britain making
us the poorer relatives amongst our
African, Caribbean and North
American cousins. The image of the
black intellectual messiah leading
the people from bondage has
several contenders. There is the
brilliant W.E.B Dubois th Rf